Wingnut Week In Review: Love TKO

September 12, 2014

Terrance Heath

In the biggest elevator video since Beyonce and Jay Z, the world saw Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice knock his fiancé out cold. While the NFL dragged its feet on a response, right-wingers lost no time blaming the victim.

In July, video surfaced of Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice dragging the unconscious body of his then fiancé — Janay Palmer — out of an elevator in an Atlantic City casino. This week, the world found out what happened in that elevator, as further video surfaced of an altercation between the couple, that ended with Rice knocking Palmer unconscious.

Meanwhile, the National Domestic Violence Hotline has seen a 72 percent increase in calls since the Rice video went public. But the hotline was already struggling to handle calls before the Rice video. The organization, which gets most of its money from the Federal government, was hard hit by GOP-driven sequestration cuts.

As much as we need to be talking about the NFL’s problem with domestic violence, it isn’t the only three-lettered organization indifferent to women’s humanity. From its position on the Violence Against Women Act to economic and social policies that are destroying the kinds of infrastructure that make it possible for women to leave abusive relationships, the GOP is fostering a culture of permissiveness around violence against women.

About Terrance Heath

Terrance Heath is the Online Producer at Campaign for America's Future. He has consulted on blogging and social media consultant for a number of organizations and agencies. He is a prominent activist on LGBT and HIV/AIDS issues.